January 27, 2006

ALWAYS TOUGH TO WAKE UP THE 13%ERS:

The crisis engulfing the Liberal Democrats is underlined by the latest YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph which shows that support for the party has fallen to 13 per cent - its lowest level for eight years - even before the disclosure that Mr Hughes had covered up his homosexual relationships.

The poll says that more than one in three of those who voted Liberal Democrat in the election last May no longer supports the party and that many no longer regard it as a credible political force.

Labour and the Conservatives have both gained from the party's decline and are now virtually level-pegging. The Tories under their new leader David Cameron are on 39 per cent, a gain of six points since the election, and Labour are on 40 per cent, up four points.